Mitragyna speciosa (Kratom) poisoning: Findings from ten cases.

Kratom is a mixture of compounds that are present in the leaves of the tropical tree Mitragyna speciosa. It is used as a psychoactive agent with both opiate and stimulant-like effects. In this case series we describe the signs, symptoms, and the management of kratom overdose in the prehospital setting and in intensive care. We retrospectively searched for cases in the Czech Republic. Over 36 months we found 10 cases of kratom poisoning, which healthcare records were analyzed and reported as per CARE guidelines. The dominant symptoms in our series were neurological and included quantitative (n = 9) or qualitative (n = 4) disorder of consciousness. Signs and symptoms of vegetative instability [hypertension (n = 3) and tachycardia (n = 3) vs. bradycardia/cardiac arrest (n = 2), mydriasis (n = 2) vs. miosis (n = 3)] were noticed. Prompt response to naloxone in two cases and lack of response in one patient were observed. All patients survived and the effect of intoxication wore off within two days. Kratom overdose toxidrome is variable and, in keeping with its receptor physiology, consists of signs and symptoms of opioid-like overdose, sympathetic overactivation and serotonin-like syndrome. Naloxone can help to avoid intubation in some cases.

Structure Tuning and Electrical Properties of Mixed PVDF and Nylon Nanofibers.

The paper specifies the electrostatic spinning process of specific polymeric materials, such as polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polyamide-6 (PA6, Nylon-6) and their combination PVDF/PA6. By combining nanofibers from two different materials during the spinning process, new structures with different mechanical, chemical, and physical properties can be created. The materials and their combinations were subjected to several measurements: scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to capture topography; contact angle of the liquid wettability on the sample surface to observe hydrophobicity and hydrophilicity; crystallization events were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC); X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) to describe properties and their changes at the chemical level. Furthermore, for the electrical properties of the sample, the dielectric characteristics and the piezoelectric coefficient were measured. The advantage of the addition of co-polymers was to control the properties of PVDF samples and understand the reasons for the changed functionality. The innovation point of this work is the complex analysis of PVDF modification caused by mixing with nylon PA6. Here we emphasize that the application of nylon during the spin influences the properties and structure (polarization, crystallization) of PVDF.